Leeds United have been a level above pretty much everyone in the Championship this season but they’ve failed to secure the right result in key games, which has halted their promotion pursuit. 

The Whites have the perfect opportunity to redeem themselves against Millwall at Elland Road tomorrow, with three points piling the pressure on the likes of Norwich City and Sheffield United who both face tough sides.

Although, with promotion on the line it appears as if Marcelo Bielsa is already eyeing a possible summer transfer window move, as according to Tuttomercatoweb (via HITC), Leeds are interested in Nahitan Nandez.

And, according to a more recent report from Tuttomercatoweb (via HITC), Leeds have received a boost in their pursuit of the midfielder, as his agent has shared that he wants to leave this summer.

However, the one factor that could affect a potential move for the Uruguay international is the hefty price tag that Boca Juniors have slapped on him, which stands at €20 million (£17 million).

Leeds could definitely do with bringing in another central midfielder if they manage to secure promotion to the Premier League as Adam Forshaw doesn’t look good enough to make the step up, while the likes of Kalvin Phillips and Mateusz Klich could attract transfer interest in the summer transfer window.

Indeed, Leeds have been linked with a move for Ander Iturraspe (as per AS, via Sport Witness), but Nandez has more life left in him and all the attacking qualities to cause problems in the Premier League if the Whites were to taste promotion, so Bielsa should forget about the Spaniard.

So, Andrea Radrizzani must pay the hefty price to sign the midfielder as he could turn out to be an Elland Road hero if his performances in recent years are anything to go by. He’s quick on the ball, can create in the final third and he has a knack for finding the back of the net, so he could be a force in attacking areas, as well as in the defensive third.

The Whites would make a huge statement by bringing the midfield star to Elland Road as they would have pipped the likes of Roma, Cagliari and Newcastle to the signing, which would speak volumes as Roma can offer European football and the Magpies are a guaranteed top-flight club. Also, the Leeds owner would highlight the club’s ambition by spending a large fee on the Uruguayan, as you have to pay the price if you want to bring in top players.

Leeds United fans, do you think Radrizzani should splash the cash on Nandez this summer? Join the discussion by commenting down below!

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Manchester United fans have taken to Twitter to react after Arsenal’s official Twitter account appeared to mock their chant for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The Red Devils supporters’ chant for the Norwegian goes:

Who will be the next ‘Big 6’ manager to be sacked? The Pl>ymaker FC squad all seem to agree on one name. Find out who in the video below…

‘Ole’s at the wheel, tell me how good does it feel, we’ve got Sanchez and Pogba and Fred, Marcus Rashford he’s manc born and bred, duh du, du du du du du, duh du, du du du du du, the greatest of English football, we’ve won it all. ‘

It is a song that they hold dear to them, but following the Gunners’ 2-0 win over them at the Emirates on Sunday, the north London-based side’s Twitter account sent out a tweet twisting the lyrics so they suit Unai Emery, rather than Solskjaer.

Naturally, after watching their side fall to a first domestic defeat under the caretaker manager in a game where they still played quite well, the United fans were in no mood to take any digs from the Gunners.

Let’s see how they reacted to the jibe on Twitter…

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Newcastle United fans on Twitter are not happy after the club announced they would be competing in the 2019 Premier League Asia Trophy.

The Magpies will be joined in the biennial pre-season tournament by current reigning Premier League champions Manchester City, West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

This year’s edition of the tournament is designed to give Asian fans a rare close-up view of their favourite Premier League teams and stars.

The tournament will take place on mainland China in mid-July.

It’s the second time that Newcastle are competing in the competition and the first time in 16 years, but not all supporters are pleased about it.

One of the fanbase’s main issues is that their team are not yet safe from relegation to the Sky Bet Championship, currently a mere seven points above the bottom three, whilst another is that they see the venture as one more way for controversial owner Mike Ashley to line his pockets.

Check out those and some other negative reactions from the Toon Army below…

Does Newcastle’s infamous title collapse of 1996 mirror what is happening at Liverpool right now? The Magpie Channel discuss in the video below…

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Max Meyer was once regarded as one of the most precocious and exciting midfield talents on the continent, but he has failed to hit the heights of his role model and 98 cap Germany international, Michael Ballack.

What’s the word?

It’s often easy to forget that footballers, like everyone else, have a life away from their place of work.

Plenty of players avoid making their presence felt in the public eye and that naturally contributes to the aforementioned false perception, but Meyer spoke to Crystal Palace TV this week in a refreshing interview with Chris Grierson, as per Youtube.

The former Schalke prodigy, who joined Palace on a free in the summer, opened up about veganism, his move to England and the 2006 World Cup amongst other things.

While discussing the 2006 World Cup, which was hosted by Germany, Meyer revealed (01:30) that Ballack, the German captain for the competition, was his favourite player at the time.

“My favourite player was Michael Ballack. He was my role model. He was a perfect player for Germany, he was the captain and he was my favourite player.”

Too late to follow in Ballack’s footsteps?

As role models go, Ballack is a phenomenal talent to aspire to.

Considering Meyer is now 23 and struggling to cement his place in Roy Hodgson’s starting XI, it’s fair to say that he has a mountain to climb if he wishes to emulate the success of the 2010 Premier League title winner.

However, he could learn a lot from his role model’s box-to-box style of play and ability to regularly find the back of the net for club and country.

Meyer’s positional transition from a number ten to a number six has been the defining narrative in his career during the past eighteen months, but perhaps he needs to strike a balance between the qualities needed in both of those positions in order to realise his huge potential, just as Ballack did during his esteemed career.

Considering all the changes West Ham United made in the summer, things have worked relatively well, haven’t they? Sure, there have been some poor performances and inconsistency continues to plague the club, but it would have been difficult for Manuel Pellegrini to have hit the ground running in his first season at the London Stadium.

However, one report is suggesting that might be all the time the former Manchester City manager gets in east London.

What’s the News?

RMC Sport are claiming West Ham are considering to make Bruno Genesio their new manager as his future with Olympique de Lyonnais remains in the air.

It is claimed that the Irons have already contacted Pini Zahavi, the manager’s agent, about a possible move and could look to appoint him in the summer.

The Verdict:

To say the news that West Ham could already be looking to replace Pellegrini in the summer would have to be considered a shock and also ludicrous at the same time.

Yes, the Chilean has hardly set the London Stadium alight, however, he has been a lot better than who the club have had in recent memory and has started to show some signs of progress with the group of players he has at his disposal.

After a huge overhaul last summer, the Irons are still within distance of finishing seventh in the Premier League and are well away from relegation, something that has not always been so sure at this stage of a campaign.

Pellegrini has managed to bring some star names to the club as well, with the likes of Felipe Anderson arriving, whilst he has reinvented the way West Ham play and has added an attractive element to it – although it can go missing at times.

Genesio only has experience of managing Lyon, so looking to replace Pellegrini with him could be a really risky piece of business and rather unnecessary at this moment in time.

West Ham fans, are you shocked that the board could already be looking to sack Pellegrini? Do you think Genesio would improve the team? Join in with the discussion below by sharing your thoughts with us.

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Liverpool fans have taken to Twitter to praise Adam Lallana for his performance in the 4-2 win over Burnley on Sunday afternoon.

The England international has come in for criticism from a number of the Reds’ fanbase in recent weeks, as Jurgen Klopp has preferred to bring him on from the bench in favour of Naby Keita or Xherdan Shaqiri and to little effect.

What is behind Liverpool’s recent title race slip ups? The Pl>ymaker FC squad discuss in the video above…

Against the Clarets, however, the former Southampton man was handed just his fourth start of the Premier League season, and took his chance with aplomb by performing admirably.

The 5 foot 8 midfielder recorded two key passes and completed one dribble on a day where he looked bright and dangerous for the title hopefuls, with the win over Sean Dyche’s men helping Liverpool climb back to within a point of Manchester City with eight games to go.

Let’s see what the Merseysiders are saying about Lallana’s performance on Twitter after the convincing victory…

يستعد فريق يوفنتوس لملاقاة نظيره كروتوني يوم السبت المقبل، عقب نهاية فترة التوقف الدولي الحالية.

وتشير شبكة “سكاي إيطاليا”، أنه مع استئناف التدريبات لن يتمكن اليوفي من الاعتماد على 13 لاعبًا ممن يتواجدوا مع منتخبات بلادهم.

سيعود العديد من اللاعبين في نهاية الأسبوع فقط ومن بينهم أيضًا فيديريكو كييزا وباولو ديبالا.

فترة التوقف وضعت أندريا بيرلو، المدير الفني للفريق في مأزق، حيث سيكون لديه يوم واحد فقط مع المجموعة بأكملها للتحضير للمباراة ضد كروتوني.

اقرأ أيضًا.. باريس سان جيرمان لا يستسلم لضم كريستيانو رونالدو

وخاض يوفنتوس مواجهتين في الدوري الإيطالي ويملك 4 نقاط في رصيده حيث حقق الفوز أمام سامبدوريا في الجولة الأولى بثلاثية دون رد.

في الجولة الثانية تعادل البيانكونيري أمام روما (2-2)، وفي الجولة الثالثة لم يسافر فريق نابولي لخوض مباراته مع يوفنتوس، لإصابة اثنين من لاعبيه بفيروس كورونا، رغم قرار رابطة الدوري الإيطالي بخوض المباراة في موعدها.

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Nottingham Forest’s club-record signing Joao Carvalho looked as though he may have turned a corner following his goal against Hull City last weekend, but he came unstuck in the 3-1 defeat to an Aston Villa side led by Jack Grealish in midweek.

On the chalkboard

The 22-year-old Reds man appeared to be adapting to the rigours of English football well in the first-half of the season under Aitor Karanka, but the Spaniard’s successor Martin O’Neill clearly hasn’t been happy with something he has seen.

The Portuguese attack-minded midfielder had barely been seen on the pitch in the Championship before being named in the starting XI against the Villans in midweek, but he once again flattered to deceive.

The former Benfica man would do well to look up to a player he faced on the night at The City Ground in Grealish, if he wants to be a success at Forest.

What does he need to do?

Grealish has been clearly targeted by Championship opponents so many times over the course of the previous 18 months that it’s been almost laughable, but he continues to get up and get on with things even when he is taken down illegally.

Can Forest get back to winning ways against lowly Ipswich? Matchday with Max gives us his view on their recent defeat to Villa in the video below…

He may not be of a big build, but the 23-year-old has clearly put in the work in the gym to ensure that he has ome upper body strength and isn’t easy to bundle off the ball, and that has undoubtedly helped him.

In the last few weeks especially you have seen how the Villa captain is grabbing matches by the scruff of the neck himself rather than relying on others to do so, and now Carvalho needs to replicate this.

He has the talent to match or even better Grealish at this level, and the fact that Matty Cash and Lewis Grabban weren’t on the pitch on Wednesday cannot be used as an excuse for his failures.

Bulking up a bit and being ready to mix it up with the opposition will ensure that, eventually, he will be a consistent success for Forest under O’Neill.

Ravel Morrison is a name that sticks in the mind of Manchester United fans, not because he turned out to be a quality player, but because he was one of the most disappointing cases of unfilled potential.

Breaking onto the scene alongside Paul Pogba, Ravel Morrison was considered to be a part of a golden crop of players – those who would rise out of the academy system to emulate, even in part, the success of the iconic Class of ’92.

However, in football, there are two key trials a fledging must face if they wish to be initiated into stardom, and Ravel Morrison failed in the most important.

Having joined Manchester United’s ranks aged eight, scouted from the illustrious Fletcher Moss Rangers, the same side who produced Marcus Rashford, signing a scholarship in 2009 shortly followed by a professional contract with the club in February 2010. Though, at 17-years-old, and within a week of fulfilling the dream, he found himself arrested by local police and later convicted for intimidating a knifepoint robbery witness, whom he seemingly believed was due to testify in the trial against his friends.

Shortly after Morrison found himself back in court, this time for a violent dispute with his girlfriend, in which he was accused and convicted of criminal damage and referred to Salford’s youth offending team.

Like the calm at the eye of the storm, all this mayhem occurred outside of his contrastingly beautiful performances on the pitch.

Indeed, the former United man strutted his stuff so capably alongside Jesse Lingard and Pogba on their journey to the FA Youth Cup final, drawing exciting similarities to club legend Paul Scholes – a man, ironically, known for his anonymity off the field.

Morrison helped himself to a goal in his side’s comeback against Chelsea overturning a 3-2 aggregate, before providing a brace in the final at Bramall Lane to help bring home the FA Youth Cup for the first time since 2003.

His success should have promised so much; like Giggs, Scholes and Beckham, the FA Youth Cup had proven to be the right of passage into the dizzying heights of Old Trafford, the Theatre of Dreams.

It proved to be anything but for Morrison.

The once highly thought of prospect watched his opportunities slowly dissipate into the squalor of obscurity, and with the time on his contract slowly running out, with scant chance of renewal, he parted ways with his boyhood club to join West Ham.

“Sadly, there are examples of players who have similar backgrounds to Giggs or Cristiano Ronaldo, who, despite enormous talent, just aren’t emotionally or mentally strong enough to overcome the hurts of their childhood and their inner demons. Ravel Morrison might be the saddest case,” Ferguson wrote in his 2015 book, Leading (via These Football Times).

“He possessed as much natural talent as any youngster we ever signed but kept getting into trouble. It was very painful to sell him … he could have been a fantastic player. But, over a period of years, the problems off the pitch continued to escalate and we had little option but to cut the cord.”

Now 26-years-old, Morrison has managed brief periods playing on loan for Birmingham, QPR, Cardiff, before moving to Lazio permanently, and though Italy proved to be just as fruitless, spending time on loan in Mexico for Atlas, his most recent move to Ostersund in Sweden could be the start of something new.

There are some big characters at Man Utd, but Paul Pogba undeniably tops the list. The Frenchman is an incredibly well-known figure, and so whenever he says something, he gets people talking.

Unfortunately for Man Utd in this case, however, his latest comments have got people talking for the wrong reasons after he described another team, Real Madrid, as a “dream club”.

As per Goal, he said: “Real Madrid is a dream for anyone. It’s one of the biggest clubs in the world”.

Pogba isn’t doing himself any favours here, as these comments are only going to generate criticism, and that’s exactly what the Frenchman has earned at the hands of TalkSport pundit Dean Saunders.  

As per TalkSport, Saunders said: “I would never talk about another club if I was sat in front of the press. I would say, ‘I’m a Manchester United player and that’s all I care about’. Honestly, I think they should get rid of him. I would get rid of him.”

He continued: “Obviously he’s a really good player, there’s no doubt about that, but the problems that are being caused behind the scenes…The club should get their money back, give it to Ole and go and strengthen the team in other areas.”

Saunders isn’t holding anything back, and can you blame him?

Man Utd have finally turned a corner and are impressing in the English top flight, yet now they’ve been brought back down to earth by these comments. It’s hard to understand what the Frenchman was trying to achieve, but it’s clear that panic is the only thing that he’s going to be bringing back to Old Trafford.

Whether they should sell him or not is another question entirely, and there are likely to be fans on either side of the debate. On one hand, talk like this is just part and parcel of the game, and Pogba has proven his commitment to Man Utd already this term with his performances on the field. However, on the flip side, it’s also clear that the Frenchman has bigger dreams than Old Trafford; and that lack of commitment is telling.

Certainly, he’s a top player, and it will be down to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to assess the situation and determine whether these comments warrant further investigation. Saunders, though, clearly isn’t impressed.

Man Utd fans – should you sell Paul Pogba? Let us know below!